Cup having a retractable handle



June 14, 1955 D. M. GABLE, SR 2,710,706 CUP HAVING A RETRACTABLE HANDLE Filed March 6, 1953 FIG. 1

T 38 M I INVENTOR. M 054000.; M, G484. E, 51?, BY

g m'zzmm ew 0m 4 7 TOE V5 S CUP HAVING A RETRACTABLE HANDLE Deluous M. Gable, Sr., Avery, Tex.

Application March 6, 1953, Serial No. 340,820

2 Claims. (Cl.'22094) This invention relates to a cup and more particularly to a cup of the type employed as a cap for a vacuum b0ttle.

Picknickers and others carrying hot liquids in vacuum bottles suffer considerable discomfort when attempting to use the caps thereof as cups for holding hot liquids. Various attempts have been made to equip cups of this type with handles which while admirably serving their purpose present difliculties in the form' of protrusions carried by the cup which are objectionable particularly in a lunch box, or in instances where handles have been detachably connected to the cups, they are subject to loss and the defeat of their purpose is thus accomplished.

The primary object of this invention is to equip a cup of the type employed as the cap of a vacuum bottle with a handle which does not protrude from the exterior of the cup when used as a cap and which may be readily stored within the cup while it is being used as a cap.

Another object is to facilitate the rapid removal of the handle from the interior of the cap and the positioning of the handle on the cap to produce a cup into which hot liquids may be poured and from which such liquids may be dispensed without inconvenience or discomfort to the user.

Still another object is to enable conventional caps to be readily equipped with handles with little or no modifica tion of the structure of the cap.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features a cup having a bottom, a side wall carried by the bottom and extending laterally therefrom to define with said bottom a cup having a mouth remote from the bottom, an arm carried by the side wall for movement in a path adjacent the side wall from a retracted position in which it lies wholly between the mouth and the bottom to a projected position in which a portion thereof extends beyond the mouth, and a grip carried by the arm for movement in an arcuate path from an inactive position in which it lies parallel to the bottom to an active position in which it lies adjacent the outside of the cup and substantially perpendicular to the bottom.

Other features include a tongue carried by the grip remote from the arm for engaging the cup adjacent the bottom thereof and holding the grip in handle-forming position with relation to the cup.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a conventional vacuum bottle cap equipped with a handle embodying the features of this invention for the purpose of converting the cap into a cup,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a side view partially in section showing the handle in active position.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a conventional vacuum bottle cap, designated generally 10, comprises an end nited States Patent 0 2,710,706 Patented June 14, 1955 closure which when the device is used for a cup provides a bottom 12 having side walls 14 which project outwardly from the perimeter thereof to define a cap or cup having a mouth adjacent the end thereof remote from the bottom 12. In the preferred form of the invention, the cap 10 is provided adjacent the mouth with screw threads 16 by means of which it may be coupled to a conventional vacuum bottle when it is employed as a cap therefor. In frequent instances, the bottoms 12 of such caps 10 are provided adjacent their perirneters with outstanding annular flanges 18 and the side walls 14 extend outwardly from the flanges which are ofiset relative to the bottom to provide a stand or base upon which the cap may be supported while being used as a cup.

Positioned within the cup 10 is an upright arm 22 so that its upper end is inwardly of and spaced from the mouth of the cup, the arm being slidably connected to the side wall 14 for movement from its position within the cup to a position in which its upper end is above the mouth of the cup. Specifically, the connection of the arm 22 to the side wall 14 comprises a rivet or stud 20 carried by the side Wall and projecting perpendicularly into the interior of the cup, the stud being slidably received in a closed slot 24 formed in the arm 22 and extending longitudinally thereof. A spacer 26 surrounds the rivet or stud 20 between the arm 22 and the side wall 14. The upper end of the arm 22 is inwardly olfset, as at 28, and pierced to receive a rivet 30 by means of which the grip to be more fully hereinafter described is connected to the arm.

Within the cup 10 is a grip designated generally by the numeral 32, the grip embodying a bowed spring strip 34. The strip 34, Figure 3, is disposed on one side of and transversely of the arm 22 adjacent its upper end and has one of its ends pivotally connected to the upper end of the arm 22 for swinging movement about an axis transverse of the arm or rivet 30. The strip 34 upon execution of the movement of the arm 22 to the position so that its upper end is above the mouth of the cup is movable from its transverse position in the cup to a position exteriorly of the cup and extending vertically with respect to the side wall 14, Figure 3. The other end of the strip 34 has means or a tongue 36 for engaging the cup adjacent the bottom or flange 13 when the strip has been moved to its position extending vertically along and exteriorly of the side wall 14. In the preferred form of the invention the connected one end of the strip 34 is provided with an angularly extending car 38 which when the strip is in the position shown in Figure 4 frictionally engages the offset portion 28 of the arm 22 to yieldingly urge the tongue 36 into engagement with the flange18. It is to be noted that the ear 38 and the offset portion 28 on the arm 22 constitute cooperating means on the connected one end of the strip and the upper end of the arm 22 for urging the means or tongue 36 into engagement with the cup adjacent the bottom thereof or flange 18.

The cap 10 may be threadedly engaged with the conventional screw threads of a conventional vacuum bottle and in this condition it will serve as a cap for excluding dust and dirt form the interior of the bottle. When it is desired to use the cap as a cup, it is unscrewed from its position on the vacuum bottle and turned with the mouth upwardly as illustrated in the drawings. The grip 32 together with the arm 22 is then moved upwardly so that the upper end of the arm projects beyond the mouth of the cup as illustrated in Figure 4 and the grip 32 is then moved about the pivot 30 and the tongue 36 engaged with the flange 18 in which position, the grip 32 will supply a handle for the cup. When it is desired to again restore the device to its initial function, the tongue 36 is disengaged with the flange 18 against the eflort of the yielding tongue 36 and the natural spring of the bowed strip 34 and the entire grip is then moved about the axis of the pivot 30 and moved to a position in which it lies substantially horizontal to the bottom 12. Owing to the loose connection of the offset portion 28 with the ear 38 about the pivot 30, the grip 32 may be moved horizontally to a position above the mouth of the .cup 16 and then moved into the cup between the bottom 12 and the mouth thereof as shown in Figure 2 after which the cup may be threaded onto theconventional vacuum bottle to provide a cap therefor.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention. it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cup, 21 bottom, ;a side wall carried by the bottom and extending laterally therefrom to define with said bottom a cup having a month remote from the bottom, an

upright arm positioned within said cup with its upper end inwardly of and spaced from the mouth of said cup and slidably connected to said side wall for movement from its position withinthe cup to a position in which its upper end is above the mouth of said cup, a grip embodying a bowed spring strip disposed within said cup and on one side of and transversely of said arm adjacent the upper end of the latter and having one of its ends pivotally connected to the upper end of said arm for swinging movement about an axis transverse of said arm, said strip upon execution of the movement of said arm to the posi- 1 tion so that its upper end is above the mouth of said cup being movable from its transverse position within said cup to a position .exteriorly .of said cup and extending vertically with respect to said cup side wall, and means on the other end of said strip for engaging the cup adjacent the 33 bottom when the strip has been moved to its position extending vertically along and exteriorly of said cup side wall.

2. In a cup, a bottom, a side wall carried by the bottom and extending laterally therefrom to define with said bottom a cup having a mouth remote from the bottom, an upright arm positioned within said cup with its upper end inwardly of and spaced from the mouth of said cup and slidably connected to said side wall for J movement from its position within the cup to a position in which its upper end is above the mouth of said cup, a grip embodying a bowed spring strip disposed within said cup and on one side of and transversely of said arm adjacent the upper end of the latter and having one of its ends pivotally connected to the upper end of said arm for swinging movement about an axis transverse of said arm, said strip upon execution of the movement of said arm to the position so that its upper end is above the mouthtof said cup being movable from its transverse position within said cup to a position exteriorly of said cup and extending vertically with respect to said side wall, means on the other end of said strip for engaging the cup adjacent the bottom when the strip has been moved to its position extending vertically along and exteriorly of said cup side wall,

and cooperating means on said one end of said strip and said upper end of said arm for urging said means into engagement with the cup adjacent the bottom thereof.

References ited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

